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His Declining Health

Disclaimer for the Entire Story:

All rights reserved to Rumiko Takahashi and to the respective owners of “The Moon Embracing the Sun.”

However, ALL storylines, albeit: (a) an adaptation of Rumiko Takahashi works; and (b) the original works of the owners of “The Moon Embracing the Sun” is the intellectual property of Maria-Salvatore29.

Author’s Note: I’ve been re-watching an old Korean Drama entitled “The Moon Embracing the Sun” and thought that its story would fit perfectly with Inuyasha. I played with the idea and came up with this. Although loosely based with that TV Show, I still thought that I should mention it. Enjoy!

Warning: The length of each chapter will vary from drabbles to full-length chapters. If you think this kind of set-up will not work out for you, then I guess this story is not for you.

Chapter 1: His Declining Health

-x-X-x-

Kagome slowly walked towards the hut that Inuyasha personally built as her abode. She held her bathing materials close to her chest as she pensively visited her memories.

It’d been two years since she jumped back into the past, towards Inuyasha. They immediately settled into their old routine, interacting as best friends, and bickering like an old married couple, all the while masking their feelings for each other.

Kagome knew that Inuyasha was merely bidding his time, allowing her to settle in the feudal era, and waiting for her to be ready. His patience was surprising, but she guessed that he felt secured in the knowledge that she was here to stay with him.

But this days, she was asking herself if she’d ever feel ready. She felt edgy, her heart warring with the peacefulness of the village, and her mind kept screaming at the wrongness of her place.

“Kagome.” Kaede’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts. Focusing her gaze at the old miko who stood just outside her hut, she asked politely, “Kaede-sama, what are you doing outside in the cold?”

Kaede raised her brows at her. “I could say the same to you. Strolling at such a chilly afternoon.”

She smiled at the motherly affections she dearly missed. “I just took a bath in the spring. Let’s go inside.”

They entered the warm hut, having a small-talk, but Kaede quickly got into business once she was seated on a rocking chair that Kagome asked Inuyasha to build. “But...I am here to talk to you about something important, my child.”

Kagome stilled, but she nodded for her to continue.

“It had been two years, what’s holding you back?” Kaede asked, pointedly looking at her.

And they did let her go. The abruptness of her release sent her toppling down head first into the Well. Shock robbed her of her scream, so she fell in silence, asking herself why she forgot how simple-mindedNo-man youkai were. You easily forget, Kagome. That was her last thought before her head hit the ground and then...blackness.

-c-C-c-

Kagome woke up inside a box. Or so she thought. Long minutes gone by and finally, she realized that she was inside a palanquin. She pounded the walls of her moving prison, fear that seemed to stem from the past grasped her heart, constricting her breathing.

She started to hyperventilate. A vision of herself dying, out of breath inside a wooden coffin filled her mind. Claustrophobia. So this was how it felt.

But she never had a claustrophobia. Until now.

She clawed at her chest, as her head throbbed unbearably. Hazily, she realized that her hands were bloody, the wound quite deep, probably due to her fall.

She fell back, eyes involuntarily closing, gasping like a fish on land, and perspiring heavily as if she’d been running for miles.

The palanquin never stopped moving. She stayed half-conscious the rest of the way.

Somehow, the palanquin halted and she was pulled outside. But her body was rigid. Almost lifeless.

“She is dead!” A man’s voice declared from beside her.

“What?” Squawked by a familiar voice. “What have you done, you idiot?”

“We—we just did as you asked!” Another man said.

“We need her alive. Now what would we do?” The familiar voice replied fearfully.

Kagome slowly opened her eyes, hoping for some light, but darkness greeted her. Without thinking, she released a dose of purification power, and the blast of it blew her captors away. Then she ran away. As fast as her human legs could carry her.

“Inuyasha! Inuyasha! Inuyasha!” She screamed wildly.

Then she tripped. She always trips. Blinking her tears away, she tried to get up, but strong arms hauled her upright, trapping her against his chest.

“Take her inside the Ten No Hall!” The familiar voice ordered, and Kagome renewed her struggle. She also tried to crane her neck backward to glimpse at the familiar voice, but the night robbed her of her vision.

They carried her inside the Ten No Hall where she was unceremoniously dropped on the ground. The candle light shed some light and Kagome savored the brightness around her, and that was when she noticed them.

Miko surrounded her, probably forty of them, in white and black garments, and they were looking at her with deadly calm. They took a step towards her, the hardness in their eyes resembled Kikyou’s, and she scrambled away from them, but they grabbed her, leading her deeper inside the place briskly.

“We must be quick,” one of them said.

Opening a door, they took her inside the bathing area which possessed a hot spring in the middle. She stared at the mist, trying to wrap her mind around the events that transpired in only a few hours, when they started undressing her.

Alarmed, her eyes goggled comically and she slapped their hands away from her body. “What are you doing? Don-don’t strip m-me!”

Once they rid of her clothing, they pushed her towards the hot water where they proceeded to scrub her body thoroughly, but gently, while some lathered something at her hair.

Tired of trying to figure out what was happening, she allowed herself to relax and let them do their...thing, especially when they put some ointment and bandages on all her wounds and scratches.

Afterwards, they dressed her in the finest white satin kimono which had red linings and embroidery of red flowers. They pulled her hair up, braiding and pinning it with white and red flowers. They drew back to admire their work, before ushering her out of the bathing area and into the entrance of the Ten No Hall.

There stood a miko with massive reiki and the mikos left her, bowing respectful at the powerful miko.

She turned to Kagome, her dark eyes cold and assessing, before commanding, “Come, we must go.”

Kagome shook her head and took a step backwards. “Go where?”

The head miko glared at her. “I am the head miko here, and you will follow me.”

The young miko’s eyes widened but she rallied enough to retort, “I am the Shikon Miko, I follow no one.”

“Ah, do not be so boastful, Shikon Miko. Even great power is useless without knowing how to use it,” she warned, sneering at her.

Kagome huffed. “I’ve been through hell and back. Yet no one would explain anything to me. Why am I here? Who are you? Why did you kidnap me?” Her questions came in rapid succession, her entire body rigid in agitation, while her head started throbbing again.

The sneer dropped from the powerful miko’s face, replaced by impassivity. “I am Michi. The Ten No Hall is a holy temple which is under the protection of the Western Lands. And you are here to serve.”

“Western Lands?” Kagome repeated. “The lands ruled by the—“

“—inu-youkai. We are inside the Western fortress ruled by Lord Sesshomaru.”

“Wait up. Are you saying that I am here to serve Sesshomaru-sama?”

“He needed your aid,” she replied seriously.

Incredulous at the idea of the Lord Sesshomaru needing help, she giggled at Michi’s face. “Are you kidding me?” Her laughter echoed at the hall. Pointing at herself, she reasoned through her laughter, “Sesshomaru needs me? Are you crazy?”

Certain that she was being insulted, Michi strode to her side to grip her upper arm, yanking her out of the Ten No Hall. She stumbled after her, the full moon already high in the sky.

Kagome backpedaled. “I wasn’t insulting you. It’s just an expression! I just don’t see it, you know?”

Her way of saying things was certainly odd, but Michi answered without missing a beat. “Sesshomaru-sama’s health has declined, though the physicians said that he has no illness. We believed that he was cursed.”

“I can’t undo a curse, Michi-sama. That requires a proper training, I have none,” Kagome argued.

“No...you would be a human talisman.”

“A talisman?”

“You would stay by his side, ward off the dark. You have the most pure soul in existence. If there are any darkness that would be casted over him, it would shine starkly against your brightness, and I would trace its origin,” she explained, and Kagome sighed gratefully at finally gaining an explanation.

Michi shook her head. “We can’t broadcast your presence here, Shikon Miko. Sesshomaru-sama’s court is oblivious to his condition. Many would vie for his position if they thought him weak. I told Jakken, Lord Sesshomaru’s servant, to bring you secretly.”

“Oh, so he was the familiar voice earlier,” she mumbled.

They passed through long and winding corridors, huge courtyards the size of Olympic fields, and intricately designed palaces. Finally, they stopped in front of the largest and grandest palace where youkai guards were stationed.

The head of the guards stepped towards them, saying, “We gave Sesshomaru-sama the broth you sent. It allowed him to sleep.”

Michi nodded in understanding, gesturing at Kagome. “She is ready.”

Kagome blinked, sighing inwardly. When am I ever ready? Fate just keeps yanking me around for years.

Michi handed her a pure white satin sheet. “It’d cover you from head to toe—masking your scent and aura.” Putting her hands on each of her shoulders, she reminded, “No one must see you. Not even Sesshomaru-sama. Stay by his side for the entire night, but leave when dawn is breaking. Jakken-sama would bring you back at the Ten No Hall.”

Kagome nodded her quite forced assent. She entered the palace, a servant maid leading her towards Sesshomaru-sama’s chamber. Three layers of sliding doors met here before reaching his room. Talk about security.

Everyone left her inside. The candles were burning low, all the windows were closed, and Sesshomaru was asleep on a massive and fluffy mattress. His aura and youki were swirling restlessly around him, his usually impassive face contorted in a grimace, and his breathing was labored.

Kagome cautiously strode beside him, her heart hurting at the image he presented. What is happening to you, Sesshomaru-sama?

She sat at the chair beside his bed, watching nightmares chase his perfected calmness. Kagome, spurred by compassion, laid a hand on his forehead to smoothen his knitted brows.

Sesshomaru gasped, as if he was starved for breath. She gripped one of his cold hand, and he gripped back. Suddenly, tears filled Kagome’s eyes and she silently sobbed to herself. I don’t know why I’m crying like this. But...I don’t like it. Seeing him in pain.

“Sesshomaru-sama,” she whispered, relieved when his rigid body relaxed, his youki settling down, and his breathing became even.

For the remainder of the night, Kagome stayed. Hurting for the man that never even looked her way.

When dawn broke, Jakken appeared behind her, his bulging eyes glaring at her with contempt. He led her out of the room, but Sesshomaru’s youki swirled around her, as if stopping her from leaving. She looked back at his sleeping face, smiling tenderly, and promised inwardly, “I’ll come back, Sesshomaru-sama.”

Jakken tugged at her sleeves, she followed him outside, gripping the satin sheet over her body. “How dare you touch his lordship’s body?!” Jakken admonished.

Kagome kept her silence, lost in Sesshomaru’s agony. Why are you suffering like this, Sesshomaru-sama?

“Are you even listening to—“

Kagome side-stepped him. “No, I’m not.”

Jakken gapped at her before stomping away. She entered the Ten No Hall where Michi was kneeling before an altar, unmoving.

Sesshomaru picked a spoon, calmly eating a soup, waiting for Jakken’s stuttering to stop. But it didn’t. Annoyed at the foolish imp, he grated, “Jakken.”

He continued babbling. Sesshomaru sighed inwardly, twirling the silver spoon in his right hand, he aimed it at the imp’s head. Then he stood up, casually striding out of the chamber.

Jakken followed him. “Actually, Sesshomaru-sama...the broth came from the Ten No Hall.”

Sesshomaru halted, his eyes narrowing. “I want nothing to do with those mikos. Throw anything that came from them next time.”

He was being impatient with those impudent mikos, but his Father promised them protection, and his Mother favored them greatly. He would not bring dishonor to his family by chasing them away. But tolerance was all he could give them.

Just the thought of them put him in a bad mood. And when his mate stepped in front of him with a cultured smile, his day was beyond salvaging.

I am taking it back, I’d rather face the mikos of the Ten No Hall than her. Groaning to himself, he stared coldly at the golden-haired inu-youkai that he could never tolerate. “You are in my way.”

Sesshomaru stepped towards her, his eyes mocking. A small smile played at the corner of his lips, he leaned down and whispered, “Why, my beautiful mate? Could you not wait to snatch the West from this Sesshomaru?”

The smile froze on her face, her brown eyes hardened. “Sesshomaru-sama...how could you—“

“Do not take me for a fool, bitch,” he hissed at her ear. “I know what you and your family are doing behind my back. So...be very careful.”

He straightened, and continued on his path, leaving Megumi bereft as always.

His court knew that he was in a foul mood, so they reported quickly and efficiently. But then, Lord Oroshi brought up a subject that almost made Sesshomaru go into a murder spree. “My lord, if I may be so bold, the West needs an heir.”

A murmur of agreement rippled through the present lords. “You have been mated for centuries, my lord, and yet you only touched Lady Megumi once—on the night of your mating ceremony. She must bear your pup, Sesshomaru-sama. We beg of you.”

Lord Satoshi, father of Megumi, remained silent, simply nodding his agreement, as if he didn’t orchestrate this on his own.

“Perhaps, our lord could get a concubine,” one of the lords piped up.

Some agreed, but Lord Satoshi’s followers were offended. Sesshomaru watched in mild amusement as they fired insults back and forth.

Sesshomaru’s eyes glinted at the hidden challenge in Lord Satoshi’s eyes, knowing how much he hated him for never laying a hand on her daughter except on their mating night. “The West is secure even without an heir,” he stated. “After all, I have a half-brother who would inherit the throne should I perish.”

A scandalized silence followed his words, before the court erupted into chaos. He rose from his seat at the dais, and left them to their arguments.

He spent his entire afternoon reading scrolls after scrolls concerning the Western affairs inside his chamber. But before sunset, Jakken announced the presence of his mate.

Sesshomaru debated whether, or not he would allow her an entrance. But he was certain Megumi would discuss to him about producing an heir.

She entered, bowing deferentially to him, before sitting opposite of him. He continued reading scrolls, his face a mask of concentration, but he knew she was trying so hard to maintain her calm façade.

She cleared her throat. “Sesshomaru-sama, I am here to discuss about the heir that this lands need.”

Sesshomaru put down the scroll in his hands.

She smiled up at him hopefully. “I couldn’t face your Mother and our court for my inadequacy to provide an heir.” Her face contorted, tears glimmering in her wide brown eyes. “I do not care if you take a concubine. Do it for your legacy’s sake and for the sake of your people.”

“Are you being sincere, my lady?” He asked, despite knowing that she wasn’t.

“As the Lady of the West, how can I let myself be swayed by personal feelings?” Lady Megumi had always been good in pretending as the victim. He had always hated her tricks, her web of lies, and her ambition to gain his affection.

“Hnn. Let’s do it according to your wishes, then, my lady,” he said, his golden eyes held a mock respect. “Tomorrow, at the great hall, I shall discuss getting a concubine with my officials.”

She raised her eyes to his, surprised at his agreement. “Sesshomaru-sama...”

Sesshomaru leaned an elbow on the table, laying his chin on his hand, an amused smile on his lips. “I hate it most when you are being hypocritical like this. You dishonor me by using deceitful words to gain sympathy.” His smile dropped, and he stared at her disdainfully. “If that’s all, go back to your pavilion and rest.”

Lady Megumi bowed, and rose to leave, but she stopped by the door. “Don’t tell me that you still cannot forget that person? How long will you keep a dead woman in your heart?”

“You have your Father inside the palace, and your clans outside. You are fortunate for having such support, or you will not be here today, Lady Megumi.”

She turned, glaring at him, tears flowing down her eyes. “How long?” She screamed, her carefully sealed emotions breaking free. “How long should I consider the dead my rival? Six centuries, I waited. Six centuries, Sesshomaru! How many more centuries should I endure, Sesshomaru? Tell me now!”

“Do not forget what I told on our mating night. Let me remind you, then. You and your family might get everything you desire, but don’t expect to capture my heart as well.” They stared at each other for a long time, when his breathing suddenly constricted.

Megumi’s cold glare turned alarmed, and she shouted for help. But there was a buzzing in his ears and his heart throbbed in his chest. His vision narrowed until there was only a tiny little point, and there he saw her...his lost moon. The person he forced himself to forget...burying her memories until he could barely remember her face.

Are you sullen because you think I have forgotten you? Sesshomaru berated himself for making her sad. How could I chase your sadness away, Tsuki?

-x-X-x-

Kagome quickened her pace when she saw Sesshomaru’s palace, eager to see him for herself. After all the ruckus earlier when he lost consciousness while talking with his mate. Sesshomaru-sama has a mate! I can’t believe it.

There were some conspiracy theories circulating, including a curse placed by the Lady of the West herself, since some heard her screaming at Sesshomaru.

The guard allowed her through and she found Jakken crying beside his bed. She inhaled sharply. “Jakken-sama...”

“Sesshomaru-sama...you should heal him, miko. You should heal him!” He begged, all his pride stripped from him. His devotion to Sesshomaru is amazing.

Jakken reluctantly left them. Kagome frowned at Sesshomaru’s lifeless complexion. Even his youki was quiet. She sat at the chair beside his bed again, but when he groaned as if in pain, Kagome flew closer beside him. The mattress dipping as she sat, she took his hands, warming them with hers.

Suddenly, Kagome saw a vision.

She saw a much younger Sesshomaru running away with a girl around the palace. His face contorted with worry. He hid them inside a beautiful pavilion, where he asked her if she didn’t know who he was.

Kagome tried focusing on the girl, but it was too hazy to see her. Sesshomaru pried a leaf from her elaborately braided up-do and he gave her a small smile.

Sesshomaru is smiling. A real smile, albeit, small. But a real one!

She gasped in shock when a much older Sesshomaru yanked her down. Then she realized that this was no longer a vision, but a reality.

Blazing golden eyes glared at her, his hands gripping hers tightly. Youki swirled around them, pushing her reiki back down. He flipped them quickly, he loomed over her with a dangerous glint in his cold eyes. “Who are you?”

Frightened, Kagome just stared at him with wide eyes.

He shook her. “Who are you, exactly? Tell me, now!”

Kagome focused her gaze his agitated ones, her heart hurting even more at the emotion in his face when he was always impassive.

They just dragged me here, but seeing you like this...I am glad they did. “I...I am here to put away the weariness in your heart, Sesshomaru-sama.”

Silence followed her statement, he was looking at her in shock. And somehow she felt like she had heard that statement before.

After a long moment, his wide golden eyes drifted away from her. Staring at a candlelight, he grated, “There is no weariness in my heart.”

“I have seen your pain, Sesshomaru-sama. Your memories.”

Sesshomaru’s hand flew around her delicate throat. “I would kill you, miko, if you play around with my memories. I would kill you. And leave you at Inuyasha’s doorstep.”

She grasped the hand threatening to choke her. “Who is Tsuki, Sesshomaru-sama?”

-x-X-x-

It was a Saturday morning.

The Higurashi family woke up very early to watch the rising sun. Kagome watched the yellow ball of light in the sky, clapping her hands in glee, which made her Father chuckle. He tightened his hold around her, before shifting his gaze at her Mother.

“Mama!” She said, loving the way her Mother’s brown eyes widened in wonder. “Butiful,” she stuttered, making her parents laugh.

“Yes, Kagome. Beau-ti-ful.” Her father tucked a stray hair behind her little ears. “You and your mother. Very beautiful.”

Then they walked towards their car, intending to visit her grandfather. “We are going to the Shrine today, Kagome.”

Her Mother held her as her Father carefully drove. “He needs our help. The maintenance is taking a toll on him.”

Kagome didn’t really understand all this, but she nodded anyway. And when they got there, she struggled away from her Mother, running to greet her grandfather.

He picked her up. “Is this Kagome? My, my, you have grown up fast! How old are you now?”

She held two fingers at him.

“Two years old!” He exclaimed. “Soon, you’d be serving our shrine as well.”

Her Father stepped forward. “Don’t go lecturing us again, papa!” He turned to her. “Go, Kagome. Run along.”

Kagome jumped away from them, picking up stones, leaves, and other materials on the ground, role-playing by herself. But when it was almost noon, she was already bored out of her mind. How she wishes she have a sibling like the other kids!

Her Father found her crying and consoled her tenderly. “Would you like to play a game, Kagome?”

With tear-streaked chubby face, she nodded.

“How about a hide-and-seek?” He suggested, tickling her at the side.

She giggled, but managed to wrench away from her Father.

“I’d count to fifty then. Better hide now, chubby little cherubine!”

Kagome ran, giggling to herself, all her earlier loneliness forgotten. She passed by an open door and with a mischievous chuckle, she entered inside. Darkness covered her, as she peered at the slit between the doors. Then she turned to face the room, a stair led to a wooden well, but in her mind, she called it the box.

Kagome inspected the box. She could hide inside it. Her Father would never find her there! Squealing at her wise decision, she ripped the papers on the box so she could open it. Then without another thought, she climbed inside.

And she was right. Her Father never found her.

For a bright blue light engulfed her. She delighted at the vivid colors, but all her happiness evaporated when the lights disappeared.

She looked up, only to see the bright sky and the yellow ball of light in the sky. She climbed out of the box, grasses, trees, and fresh air greeting her.

Her sapphire eyes widened at the sight around her. There is a forest inside the box!

Without another look at the well, she stared to explore, explore, explore, and explore. Until the moon had risen in the sky.

In the dark, Kagome forgot her way back. In the dark, Kagome sobbed without anyone consoling her. And when monsters attacked her, she bolted, screaming, “Papa! Mama! Help!”

They grappled at her, ripping her clothes off, and tearing her delicate skin. She screamed out loud. They slapped her chubby cheeks for the noise.

“Food!” They said. But she was not a food!

A blast of pink light from her tiny hands blinded them, and she took this opportunity to escape. She called for her parents, never wanting to play another game.

No one helped her, but she found a tiny hole to hide. The monsters growled, but they were too big to follow her inside, so they left her alone.

She cried for what seemed like eternity. No food, no water, no light, no anything. Soon, she lost even her voice, and her memories were becoming dim.

Soon, she was dying.

“I thought I smelled a human,” a voice teased her ears. A pair of golden eyes peered at her hide-out. She curled tighter into herself. “What are you doing there, child?” The kind voice asked.

Another pair of golden eyes stared at her. One look and she knew that he was kind. “We should get her out, Father.” He held out a hand to her. “Come, little human. We wouldn’t hurt you.”

But her limbs were too stiff, her voice forgotten. Together, the golden-eyed duo pulled her out of her hide-out. The brightness blinded her, the morning air made her shiver. The older-looking golden-eyed person cradled her gently in his arms, the younger one sifted through her sticky mane.

She closed her eyes again, already drifting back into sleep.

“What should we do with her, papa? We can’t leave her here. Let’s take her home. Mama would be delighted at having a girl to croon with.”

The young golden-eyed boy brought a tray of food and drinks, and they slowly fed her until she shook her head at them.

The two of them talked animatedly, trying to get Kagome to talk. But she remained mute, afraid of the monsters. Are they below the bed right now?

Sensing her distress, the lady inched closer to her until Kagome was already cradled in her warm arms. “Shh. We will protect you, child.”

Right then, the older golden-eyed man entered the chamber together with another golden-eyed man with stripe markings on his cheeks.

The lady greeted, “Lord Toga, how considerate of you to visit us!”

Lord Toga grinned. “I heard you got a daughter. A human child.” He turned his expressive golden eyes at her. “Hello, young one. How are you faring?”

Kagome turned to the lady’s chest, tucking herself tighter.

The lady soothed her quietly. “I am not giving her up, Toga-sama.”

“I can see that. But, she is a human. This could pose a problem to us.”

The lady spoke to her, “Child, where is your family?”

She looked at her and shook her head.

“Are they gone?”

Yes, the box took them away. But Kagome couldn’t speak.

“How about a name? Do you have a name?”

They call me Kagome.

Sadness filled the lady’s ocean blue eyes. “For three nights, I nursed her back to life, Toga-sama. If she has no one, why not let me take care of her?”

“They would not accept her at court, mama.” The younger golden-eyed man said sadly.

“They would once I acknowledged her,” Toga said, almost arrogantly. He turned at the older golden-eyed man. “My dearest cousin. You and your family served the West with utmost loyalty, so how could I not allow a homeless child to stay with you?”

“She would be given everything that a noble demoness has?” The young golden-eyed man asked.

“Keh.” Toga scoffed. “Of course. We are the silver inu-youkai, ruler of the Western Lands. Whoever treated our pack mate with disrespect does not have a right to live. I shall be taking my leave then. Happy…parenting.”

The lady hugged Kagome to herself. “We should name her, mother.”

“You’re right, my son. How about...Tsuki?”

“Papa, you agree?”

He grumbled an agreement. “Tsuki, it means moon. Very fitting, indeed. She’s beautiful. And she chased the darkness from your mama’s eyes.” He patted her head. “You are now Tsuki, young child. Our child.”

Tsuki. Kagome repeated inside her head, and the name Kagome was quickly forgotten.

-x-X-x-

Warning: Since most readers (like me) skips the author’s notes/warnings before a chapter, I am reiterating the warning now.

The length of each chapter will vary from drabbles to full-length chapters. This only means that some chapters might have 3000 word count while others would only contain 100 words. If you do think this kind of set-up will not work out for you, then I guess this story is not for you.